The Aesthetics of Photovoltaic Systems

Solar panels are no longer taking the back seat when it comes to home design.  Photovoltaic Systems were always an afterthought for the home owner and as a result often times looked clumsy and out of place.  Now more than ever home owners are considering solar panel integration at the same time they are deciding on what roof type will be used.  In addition the actual orientation and pitch of the home’s roof line is being driven by the desire for high performing solar panels.  The result is a much more aesthetically pleasing end product.  One which truly makes the solar panels part of the house – and not an unsightly add on.

The solar industry has responded with a full blown industry wide race to perfect aesthetically pleasing and cost effective photovoltaic systems.

Keeping aesthetics in mind, many solar manufacturers design panels to appear like skylights. They achieve this by using finished sheet metal and trim strips which hide any hardware and give it the appearance of being part of the roof framing. This is effective, depending on how many solar panels you wish to utilize on your home.

Others are producing solar shingles and paint on solar cells.  Solar shingles consist of a semiconductor layer of crystalline silicon adhered to shingle and the shingles then mount onto the existing roof. Solar shingles can be used with any common style of roof including asphalt and, while one shingle does not produce very much power, hundreds of square feet can be enough to power an entire home. Most solar shingles, just like standard asphalt shingles, are flexible, can be stapled right down to the roof, and may be intermixed with standard shingles.

Researchers at Swansea University have recently discovered a way to actually paint solar cells onto steel roofing panels. Thus, you could effectively have solar power painted directly onto your roof! This solar paint is also designed to pick up low-level radiation so it can be effective even in areas that do not receive much direct sunlight. This innovation, if successful in getting mass produced, could really change the face of roofing and residential renewable energy.

Products such as solar shingles and paint-on solar steel roofs certainly seem to be the wave of the future. They are much more aesthetically pleasing and easier to install than traditional solar panels. Their one drawback at this point is that only a few companies manufacture them and they are still more expensive than solar PV panels. For many homeowners this difference in price is negligible when set against the gains in aesthetic value. Furthermore, if solar paint-on technology takes off, that high price could drop considerably.

This approach to integrating the panels into the home in a way to satisfy the eye is called (BIPV)  Building Integrated photoVoltaics.  (BIPV) are solar cells which are incorporated into materials to be used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the home such as the roof, skylights, or facades. They are increasingly being incorporated into the construction of new buildings as a principal or ancillary source of electrical power, although existing buildings may be retrofitted with BIPV modules as well. The advantage of integrated photovoltaic systems over more common non-integrated systems is that the initial cost can be offset by reducing the amount spent on building materials and labor that would normally be used to construct the part of the building that the BIPV modules replace. These advantages make BIPV one of the fastest growing segments of the photovoltaic industry.

Here at SunGreen we understand the importance and value of both design and production of the solar panels.  Our principles are trained architects and have traveled the world to remain on the cutting edge of BIPV technologies.  We strongly feel that by being involved from the early stages of any home design or redesign, we can add tremendous value to the project and insure an end product that is both aesthetically   pleasing and highly performing.

Ultimately this is where this technology is heading.  Massive projects have been constructed using this BIPV and more are in the works.